THE wELLNESs oF eCRUdO

Soft, crispy, and healthy, find this restaurant in the heart of the Tortona area.

Text by Charlotte Garlaschelli

The Tortona district in Milan will soon be packed with crowds for the Design Week. The area has recently witnessed the birth of a brand new place,ECRUDO, which in no time has acquired the glorious reputation of representing Italian fine dining par excellence. Is it true? We checked it out and tasted some of the dishes offered in the menu.

The place is welcoming, natural and cosy, while being simple and elegant at the same time. It looks perfect for a lunch or dinner with friends or colleagues, to have a chat in peace. The waiters look sober and capable of taking care of their guests, with just the perfect amount of attention. The surrounding warm colours include beige, taupe, maron glacés, verte sauvage and natural rope. The iridescent and yet homogeneous design slightly changes according to the restaurant’s “areas”: there is an informal corner for the aperitif, but also a classic, an elegant and a more private one. We all know that this is a nice advantage for a restaurant.

The idea belongs to Milan-based architect and art designer Alessandro Agrati, who carried out a long research about wellness. The concept was supported by Italy First Sa, a company that widely promotes luxury and excellence. Volumes, atmosphere and lightning reflect the soundness that characterises the food offer: the culinary part was entrusted to the famous chef Umberto Vezzoli and his ten-year-long experience in Italy, New York and Tokyo. His work is not just about flavours and raw materials of a very good land, he focuses on managing a restaurant with a particular attention to the processes of culinary wellbeing. Therefore, experimentation with flavours is welcome, but not “curiosity”. Because the human palate is to be stimulated naturally, taking into account digestive, sensory and cognitive comfort factors. This is why his recipes are new and yet linked to the Mediterranean tradition, not really raw, but crisp, so as not to disperse food’s precious nutritious characteristics and enjoy all its benefits. Ravioli with king brown mushrooms and duck sauce, pumpkin cream, burrata cheese and toasted pistachios, black truffle linguine, clams, mullet bottarga, and our favourite, prince among princes: turbot, artichokes, white polenta chips, carbonara sauce. We closed our meal with a biscuit, bitter orange marmalade, chantilly cream and strawberries and had a chat while sipping a Passito “Vendemmia Tardiva” from the Vitinicola Rizzi. The wine list is superb by the way: it was selected by Piero Sattanino, one of the best known sommeliers in the world who advocates for natural wines and reports, when possible, the grapes that were used for winemaking.

Since the Design Week is almost here, we also suggest the event Inventivity that will be hosted by Ecrudo during the Salone del Mobile in Milan from April 17 to 22. For this occasion six female artists will propose their handmade works, including jewellery, furnishing accessories and fabrics.

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